Gary Leech talked about his book Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia (Beacon Press; January 1, 2009). In his book Mr. Leech looks at the drug war in Colombia, the U.S. government’s involvement, and the impact of that conflict on the poor of the country. He also chronicles his time as a captive of the FARC, Colombia’s largest leftist guerrilla organization. The guest interviewer was Josh Rushing, correspondent for Al Jazeera English and host of that network’s “On War” series. Among other topics, they discussed Mr. Leech’s early life, his experiences as a Marine in El Salvador and his years in Colombia. 

Garry Leech is the editor of Colombia Journal and a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada.